Monday, February 16, 2015

76ers' Sam Hinkie Talks - Sort Of

Sixers' GM Sam Hinkie Kind of Gave an "Interview" to ESPN Magazine

Sam Hinkie - AKA The Prince of Darkness

The notoriously close-lipped Hinkie apparently had a private lunch with in NYC with Pablo S. Torres of ESPN The Magazine not long ago, yet, from what I can see, he gave only a single quote - regarding his favorite author! Nevertheless, there are a number of inside tidbits here, making it clear (to me) that Hinkie dished quite a bit "off the record."

One such story includes a hilarious account of the time Andrew Bynum drove from a gas station to the Sixers' practice facility with 8 feet of gas hose hanging out of his gas tank.

The Big 3? MCW, Embiid and Noel

If you are a Sixers' fan, like me, this article is a must read. In fact, if you are an NBA fan, same thing goes. Even the ordinary business-person will find quite a bit of interesting reveals about the Sixers' approach to operating a business where talent, budget and a long-term plan based upon predictability models make missteps paralyzing, and ultimate victory elusive, at best.

My Prediction?Hinkie's approach will work, and 76ers will be contending for a title in 3-4 years, led by Embiid, Noel, Saric, Covington, Grant, McDaniels and their 2 upcoming First Round draft picks (Karl Towns, who plays much better D than Jahlil Okafor, along with a great shooter?...)The Sixers' defense is nearly elite right now (first in league in turnovers and blocks), and a front line of Noel, Embiid and Towns, with McDaniels out on the perimeter, will be an impregnable wall of D! Add Saric, Covington and Grantoff of the bench (and maybe Wroten if they keep him), and you will have a formidable offensive bench with great defensive length to boot. What about MCW? On the one hand, if you cannot shoot, you cannot be an elite-point guard. Yet, many teams without elite-point guards have won NBA Championships within the past decade (think: Lakers, Celtics, Heat). And a 6'5" point guard who can rebound and defend is never a truly bad thing.